Paper Moon
by theactualabefroman
Summary: Jack has been seen before. It was just so painful sometimes he wished he hadn't been.
1. Chapter 1

The ice skaters ignored the lights coming from the forest. "Come on, you little monsters. Just one little 'romp' into the woods." The girl, who appeared to be only a few years older than the children on the ice, kept snapping her fingers from the high branches of the tree. With every snap, the lights dancing in the trees disappeared for a second or so before reappearing deeper into the woods.

"Don't you little brats have any sense of adventure anymore?" She was so focused on her attempts that she almost fell from her perch when a voice above her spoke.  
"Give it up, Lanie. They're too excited for tomorrow. Talking about what the big man's going to bring them."

Willow glared up at the white haired spirit above her. "That's not my name, numb-brains. After 60 years, I would have thought even you would have caught on."

"And I would have thought you would have come up with a more original name than Willow. 'Will o' the wisp'? Really? The original guy actually was named Will. What's your excuse?"

"Not all of us were handed our names the moment we woke up." The girl cartwheeled down the branch of the spruce tree, grabbing onto the end of it and lowering herself down onto a snow drift. Instead of sinking into the snow however, the young woman's feet, clad in a simple pair of black flats, lay lightly across the ice, not leaving any footprints as she walked down the icy slope.  
The boy leapt down in a much more direct way, landing besides her with a burst of wind.

"Aw, leave the kids alone. Just for tonight. They don't need to be scared on the night before Christmas."

"How about instead you mind your own business, Jack?" The two approached the frozen lake, Jack stepping onto it and sliding past a game of hockey. Willow raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you part of the Dream Team now? Shouldn't they be jumping over themselves now that Jack Frost finally came to town?"

"Probably. But I came here to talk to you today." He glided quickly to the edge where the girl was standing.

"And why was that exactly? Rubbing in the fact that Pitch is gone now, thanks to you and the other goody two shoes?"

"I still don't understand what you saw in that creep. Lights and darkness, how was that supposed to work out?"

Willow flushed slightly. "There wasn't anything to work out. He was a friend. A better friend than anyone else ever was to me." She started to walk away. Before she got more than a few steps away though, Jack grabbed her wrist.

"Only because you never let me try. I would have made a great friend. AND I never smelled like a stable." He started pulling her onto the ice, sliding them backwards onto the lake, away from the children.

He didn't smell like a stable at all. In fact, he smelled rather nice. Like the pine trees they had just been in, and maybe a hint of mint.  
He slid her closet to himself, brushing a stray bit of hair over her ear. "Lanie, I-" Suddenly a boy rushing towards the puck skated through Willow, and she vanished into a puff of purple smoke before re materializing again with a gasp. The moment broken, she stepped backwards, pushing him away.

"That's not my name, Jack. You may have the luxury of being able to disappear and reappear at will, but some of us are still struggling just to be believed in a tiny bit." She walked towards the middle of the lake, before looking over her shoulder at him one last time. "And don't try to act so serious. It doesn't suit you." Again she disappeared, this time with a small popping noise and no smoke, and didn't reappear.


	2. Author's note

_Hey guys, I'd just like to apologize for all the mistakes in the last chapter. I wrote it in a haste on my phone, because the idea was so fresh in my mind and I didn't want to lose it. I promise future chapters will be much more edited. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_"Lanie._ What kind of name is that even?" Willow popped up into a tree, leaning against the trunk. Through the branches she could see the moon.

"What are you staring at?" She grumbled, popping back to the ground, continuing towards the Californian beach. She had picked someplace warm on purpose, trying to get the remaining chill off of her skin. Not that the cold could do anything to her now. Not a lot could, to a spirit. She had just never liked it. Or the annoying boy who always seemed to accompany it. Always looking at her like he knew something she didn't. And calling her by that STUPID name.

She sat down by the water, watching the moon's reflection waver in between the waves. "You could have told me something, you know. A hey, how are you. Something. Even Jack got a name." She raised her eyes slowly up, before turning them sideways. "Whatever. It's not like you're listening anyways." She scooted up closer to the water, dipping her toes into the warm water. She absentmindedly snapped her fingers, creating two small lights above the water. She sat there, watching the small yellow orbs chasing each other in figure eight patterns.

She had woken up on Christmas. She remembered being afraid. The fear was her first memory. The panic. And then the cold had set in. She could see a car, its hood crumpled like an accordion. And the cliff beyond it. Had she been in there? Was anyone else in there? She remembered growing more afraid. Where was she?

And then the lights had appeared. They had been much dimmer than the ones she had now, but they had had more of a mind of their own at the begining. One had zoomed in within inches of her face. She had held a hand up, not sure what it had wanted. Instead of burning her though, it had merely circle her head once, twice and then flew back, away from the car, and down a frosted pathway. Seeing no other good action, she had taken a few steps towards her new companion.

But then, he had shown up. He had appeared from the darkness behind her, throwing his cloak over her shoulders.

Pitch. The closest thing she had come to see as family in the last half a century. And now he was gone. Her hands turned to fists in the sand.

Hearing a clatter from the rooftops behind her, she quickly pulled her feet from the waters and stood, the lights zooming back into her fingers uncalled for. She could see the giant Russian from here, popping in and out of chimneys. His sleigh stood parked on the roof of the nearest house.

It was their fault. Pitch had simply wanted to be believed in again. It was easy to judge when you didn't even have to try for that anymore. They didn't know what it was like, being reduced to an old wives tale, practically a joke. Never being believed in. It was infuriating. It ate at you inside. You felt worthless. Lost. And not the kind of lost she made people feel.

And now it was like they were TAUNTING her. Two guardians in one day. She couldn't escape from them. She shoved her feet back into her shoes, and with one final glare back to North, who was now clambering into his sleigh, and disappeared.


End file.
